What is"pa"?

Question

I have see the word "pa" used at various times in Spanish. It doesn't seem to be in the dictionary. Is it an abreviation for "por" or something?

I resisted the temptation to answer with...pa is the opposite of ma. - dc-alien-z, Apr 21, 2011

lol - DJ_Huero, Apr 21, 2011

Answer 1

Perhaps you're referring to para.

In casual conversations, as well as in text or chat slang, it is sometimes shortened to pa.

Some examples:

Lo haré pa'que no te enojes. I'll do it so that you won't get mad.

Voy pa'l trabajo. I'm on my way to work.

Answer 2

Also in Spain we are used to remove the "d" in a lot of verbs´ participles "ado". For instance to say: las galletas se han acabado- las galletas se han acabao, esto esta espropeado=esto esta estropeao, and so on. This is spanish slang. Saludos desde Madrid.

Slang, you say? So, would this be found in the language used in the literature (not including the dialogue of the literature, which would include the more common speach of his characters.) - theredqueen, Apr 21, 2011

I dont understan what you are saying... - Peinadin, Apr 21, 2011

Answer 3

It's not so much slang as a representation of very casual speech/pronunciation. In quoted dialog in a book, it would usually be written as pa' (with the apostrophe to indicate the omitted syllable). It's quite similar to the use of "gonna""goin' ta" (and many other similar contractions/omissions) in English.

P.S. "paya" is just poor spelling for "pa' allá" (not "pa' allí").

That fits perfectly.Thanks samdie. - Jraider, Apr 21, 2011

de acuerdo - pacofinkler, Apr 21, 2011

I believe in English they are referred to as "informal contractions"... I am guilty of the 'no mas' for 'nada mas' all the time! - cristalino, Apr 24, 2011

Answer 4

I was curious about a phrase the natives use here in new mexico.When asking for directions they often use the phrase "paya". The closest interpretation I can come up with is "over to there".I think this is a slang for " para allí".As in: "¿Adonde esta las colinas blancas?" They will answer with a wave of the hand. "Paya."

Answer 5

I have a fourteen year old friend from Honduras that writes back and forth with me on facebook sometimes, and he uses a lot of words like that. compu, tabien, etc. I think it is partly chatspeak, and partly de la onda as he is quite young.

I wondered that too, I have some friends from Mexico on the 'ol fb and I don't even recognize half of the words :) - theredqueen, Apr 21, 2011

Answer 6

Hay palabras que, cuando se habla con voz, se convierten en un sonido fluido, como "a + el = al". A veces, un artículo tiene que cambiar, como "la agua = el agua fria" A veces, no entiendo la razón detrás del cambio, como "nada más = nomás", although my guess on the reason is based in some reading of US/Border literature...."nomás = nada más pero se basa más en una mezcla de inglés y español" (At least this is my opinion )

Creo que mi favorita mezcla es de la canción de Bebe "men señará"

My gusta mucho como los lenguajes romanticos fluyen como un río.

I didn't notice at first, but you used Spanglish. I love it. - dc-alien-z, Apr 21, 2011

oh, you should be in on my thoughts, they are a mess!!! - theredqueen, Apr 21, 2011

Answer 7

pa' is an intermediate step in dropping para from common phrases:

Ven para acá.
Ven pa' acá.
Ven acá.

Answer 8

Samdie is right. The formal name for this phenomenon (want to = wanna Dij-eet yet? = Did you eat yet?) is a "reduction," and they are a feature of spoken language that gave me fits at first while living in Korea and learning the language. Once as an ESL teacher I had a great short audio course that systematically taught some of the high-frequency reductions of American English, and it was great for the students' listening comprehension. I wonder if anyone has created that sort of course for Spanish.

Answer 9

my cousins use the word pa and when they use it they are referring to papa (dad)

Answer 10

Pa in Polish means bye